Lewis Hamilton receives new timeline to complete critical Ferrari mission

Lewis Hamilton has made it known that he does not want to end up like Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso, multi-time World Champions who were unable to reach the summit again with Ferrari.

Hamilton could have until the end of 2027 to complete that mission, in the opinion of six-time grand prix winner Riccardo Patrese. The Italian hopes that Hamilton can also usher in better internal organisation at Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton: Can eighth World Championship be won at Ferrari?

Having realised the incredible milestone of becoming a seven-time World Champion as a Mercedes driver, Hamilton’s pursuit of that record eighth crown – which would take him clear of Michael Schumacher – has moved on to Ferrari, the team where Schumacher truly became an F1 icon, winning five of his seven titles.

But, Hamilton’s first season in Ferrari red has not gone to plan. While Formula 1’s most successful driver has halted a slump in form which brought his career into question, Hamilton has not yet made the podium as a Ferrari driver.

Hamilton’s hopes therefore rest on how he and Ferrari performs in the new F1 era, with sweeping changes to the chassis and engine regulations set to arrive for 2026.

Hamilton has made it clear that he refuses to be another driver who could not become World Champion with Ferrari. He did incorrectly name-drop Kimi Raikkonen, who won his sole World Championship with Ferrari in 2007. He remains the team’s most recent Drivers’ Champion.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: “If you look at the team over the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers. They had Kimi [Raikkonen], they had Fernando [Alonso], they had Sebastian [Vettel], all World Champions; however, they didn’t win a World Champion[ship].

“And for me, I refuse for that to be the case, so I’m going the extra mile.

“Obviously I’m very fortunate to have had experiences in two other great teams, and whilst things are for sure going to be different because there’s a different culture and everything, I think sometimes if you take the same path all the time you get the same results, so I’m just challenging certain things.”

Set to turn 41 before the start of F1 2026, Hamilton is in the twilight of his racing career, and having not challenged for the title since 2021, it remains to be seen whether he has that elusive number eight still in him.

Patrese can see Hamilton going until 2027, at the latest, to realise that dream.

“Lewis can do anything he likes but I think that he wants to finish his career possibly with good results and his eighth title,” Patrese told a gambling platform.

“Next year, a new era of cars and regulations and maybe he will give it one more year after that then maybe he will say, ‘Bye bye.’ If I was in his situation, I would try until the last minute to get the best results.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc head-to-head in F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Much has been made of the “documents” which Hamilton submitted as part of his quest to bring Ferrari back to the F1 summit.

Patrese set out what he would like to see Hamilton bring to Ferrari.

“I hope that with his experience, he can give good advice about how to organise the team better internally,” he said of Hamilton.

“I hope really this because I’m Italian and I have a son [Lorenzo Patrese] who is racing with Ferrari, so I’m connected with Ferrari. I’ve never been a Ferrari driver, but I am a little bit of a fan of Ferrari so I really hope they find a solution.”

Ferrari is battling Mercedes and Red Bull over the runner-up spot in the F1 2025 Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari sits third, 27 points behind Mercedes.

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Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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